If you didn’t believe it already, you should probably believe it now: The Buffalo Bills are all grown up.

And when you think about it, the Bills’ 3-0 start after beating the Patriots on Sunday for the first time in 16 tries is part of a maturation process that began last season.

Yes, Buffalo finished with a 4-12 record, but there’s more to the story. Of their 12 losses in 2010, half were by a single-digit margin. Among those six losses, four them were by three points — all to playoff teams (Baltimore, Kansas City, Chicago, and Pittsburgh).

So as strange as this might sound, the Bills — with their 4-12 record and all — rode a wave of confidence heading into this year, which is what Stevie Johnson explained Monday on “Around the League”.

“I think we can play with any group, and it showed last year,” Johnson said. “Last year we didn’t get many wins, but we believed that we could be in a game with any team. It’s just showing now with the guys that we have and the talent in our locker room. Guys are ready to play, and they believe that we can win every week. We’re expecting to win.”

Big reason for that is the remarkable play of QB Ryan Fitzpatrick who, through three games, has shown remarkable poise to come back and an ability to spread the ball around. Everybody is doing their part when Fitzpatrick looks to them for big plays.

“We see it all the time, I see it all the time,” Johnson said. “I saw it when we were on scout team together, so it’s really no surprise to me. It just goes to show that if you give everybody else an opportunity, you get praised yourself.”

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